The bass drum is at the heart of nearly every drum kit. In order to produce a sound from a bass drum a player needs two distinct apparatuses: the striking apparatus (foot pedal) and sounding apparatus (acoustic bass drum) or trigger apparatus (electronic bass drum).
With an acoustic bass drum, a drum pedal is depressed causing a beater to pivot around an axis and forcibly strike a tensioned skin. This produces a vibration that is then amplified and projected by the hollow chamber of the drum that the skin is attached to. Electronic bass drums function in the same way except that the beater strikes a trigger apparatus instead of a sounding apparatus. This strike is converted by a transducer into an electrical impulse that is sent to an electronic drum module that will then reproduce any synthesized bass drum sound chosen by the player. This sound is then amplified electronically and projected by a loudspeaker.
Acoustic bass drums come in many forms yet they all share a few universal disadvantageous traits: they are large, heavy, not easy to transport, require the continual maintenance of at least one tensioned skin, require a striking apparatus to produce a sound and generally produce only 1 sound.
Electronic bass drums solve a few of these problems. They are smaller, lighter, easier to transport, and can produce a variety of sounds, however some maintenance of a tensioned skin or mesh and the use of a striking apparatus are still required.
The striking apparatus itself is also varied in form, however all forms are complex mechanisms comprised of various materials including formed metal, springs, levers, chains, bearings, straps, plastics, fabrics, wood, etc.
In both the acoustic and electronic bass drum configurations, other considerations need to be taken into account in order to achieve a desired playing method. Springs and levers need to be tensioned properly to accept the mechanical leverage applied by the players' foot and also to return the pedal to its resting state. Beaters that strike the sounding and/or trigger apparatus need to be set at the correct striking height. Straps and chains need to be adjusted to shorten or lengthen the throw of beater against the sounding and/or trigger apparatus. In both cases, the striking apparatus also needs to be attached by a clamping device to the sounding and/or trigger apparatus. There are some electronic bass drum pedals that combine the striking and trigger apparatus into one device, however they are still designed as a pedal that is depressed activating the beater, which then strikes a trigger apparatus.
Attempts at improvements in the design of conventional drum foot pedals for use with electronic drum kits have been made as outlined by the following U.S. patents:
U.S. Pat. No. 6,979,770; Hampton, Jr. This design focuses on speed and increasing the number of triggered drumbeats and relies on a complex apparatus to achieve this.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,074,997 and 7,531,733 and 7,435,888; Steele. These designs focus again mainly on improving the speed of the foot pedal and increasing the number of beats triggered. It also again relies on a complex apparatus to achieve these results. In addition, a slightly new playing technique is required to be learned in order to use the pedal to it's full potential.These prior art devices suffer from notable drawbacks particularly: large sizes, difficult to transport, depend on the interaction of two distinct and complex apparatuses and in some cases, require learning a new playing technique in order to utilize the device.